At a Florida Republican Party fundraiser Thursday night,
The Washington Post reports that former Vice President Dick Cheney failed to address recently being called an "iron ass" by President George H. W. Bush, but rather focused his attention on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and whether she is qualified for the position of commander-in-chief.
"I think she's in big trouble," Cheney said about the former secretary of state, according to The Washington Post.
After approaching the stage to "The Imperial March" — the theme song from the "Star Wars" movies — Cheney criticized Clinton and President Barack Obama for covering up the September 2012 Benghazi attack.
"It was election time and it was shortly before the 2012 election and they had a narrative going that once they got Osama bin Laden the problem was solved, there was no terrorism problem anymore — they didn't want to admit that there was a problem out there. The data suggested there was," Cheney said.
"It's pretty clear to me . . . that in fact she did not handle the matter appropriately, that she consciously misled the American people and that I think it does raise serious, serious doubts about her capacity to be president of the United States," Cheney continued.
Cheney also took several shots at Clinton's use of a private email address while she served as secretary of state.
"I've got to believe that she knew that she had to protect and safeguard the classified information that she was party to as secretary of state, one of the most important jobs in our government," he said.
In terms of the kind of candidate Cheney would like to see nominated for president next year, the former vice president was careful not to mention specific names.
Instead, Cheney said, "It's extraordinarily important that the Republican Party reclaim the reputation we've had most of our life that we're the go-to guys on national defense."
But with whichever candidate is elected next year, Cheney added that "it's going to take a long time to restore the U.S. military to its proper capabilities."
Criticizing Obama's current foreign policy, Cheney said, "My impression is that Obama is eager to get out of town." But in turn, Cheney told the crowd in a ballroom at the Disney Contemporary Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., "I'm eager to have him get out of town."
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